A Twist of Faith: An American Christian’s Quest to Help Orphans in Africa

Foreign affairs reporter Donnelly follows the mission work of one man, an evangelical Christian named David Nixon, who attempts to make a difference in the lives of AIDS orphans in the African nation of Malawi, which gained some visibility in America when Madonna adopted an orphan from that country. Nixon’s backstory includes an evangelical religious awakening that helps him straighten out a youthful mess of a life that included addiction. His talents and zeal take him to Malawi, where he gets an education in how to do things the right, and wrong, way. In telling Nixon’s story, Donnelly also sketches a much larger picture of the difficulties and necessities of cross-cultural interactions between well-intentioned Americans and Malawians skeptical of those intentions. There are no easy answers in this closely observed, eye-opening book. (July)